Posted on 09/29/2006 5:00:39 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher
Rick Santorum can't seem to win for losing, no matter what he does.
The U.S. senator from Pennsylvania could save AIDS babies in Africa, end genocide in Darfur and put welfare mothers to work in his own office -- and he'd still be despised by a sizable number of those who hope Democrat Robert Casey Jr. will defeat him come November.
Come to think of it, Santorum has tried all those things mentioned above, with some success, but often at great political cost. He has worked for global AIDS relief with Bono, the U2 rock star and one of Santorum's more unlikely fans. For his AIDS efforts, Santorum earned the contempt (and veiled threats) of some in the abstinence-only, family-values crowd.
Santorum has been a leader in trying to stop genocide in Sudan, which he views as a front in the war against ideological Islam -- and has sponsored every major piece of legislation created toward that end.
At home in Pennsylvania, he put five welfare mothers to work in his own offices while leading the movement that resulted in the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, signed by President Clinton.
Santorum, in other words, is one of those rare politicians who puts his money where his mouth is -- even though his usual supporters turn on him as a result. And yet his staunch Roman Catholicism has earned him a reputation in some quarters as a weirdo. If Santorum is ``too Catholic,'' he has company in his opponent, who is also a Catholic and a near-mirror image of Santorum on most of the hot-button issues.
Both men are pro-life and both oppose same-sex marriage, though Casey allows some slight variations. Casey says marriage is between a man and women, but he opposes state and federal amendments protecting traditional marriage. He also supports civil unions, gay adoption and benefits for partners in non-traditional unions.
Like Santorum, Casey opposes public funding for abortion; both support state funding of contraception; both make abortion exceptions for rape and incest, though this is a recent compromise position for Santorum. Finally, both support the legal protection for human life from conception, and both want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
The two candidates don't even differ significantly on the war in Iraq. Casey says he would have voted for the war, although based on false evidence. Both Casey and Santorum oppose a deadline for withdrawal.
There is one area where the two men diverge -- welfare reform -- which is the current topic of the television ads now running in Pennsylvania. Santorum helped make it happen; Casey opposed it.
To be honest, the ads are a little cringe-making. If Hollywood loves what Spike Lee calls the ``Magic Negro'' -- those spiritual characters who keep popping up to show white folks ``the way'' -- politicians can't help resist demonstrating their virtue with African-Americans helped by ``the man.'' No offense intended toward the women who appear in the ads.
The Santorum ad didn't come from his campaign, but was produced by a 527 group named ``Softer Voices,'' a conservative women's consortium trying to highlight the senator's record of helping women. The ad features a former welfare mother, Bylly Jo Morton, whom Santorum employed and helped attend college. Today, she's a teacher boasting three college degrees.
Not to be outdone, Casey worked a little magic himself and managed to produce a former fifth-grade student from his days as a teacher. Now a grown woman, Arkecia Morris fondly recalls how Casey encouraged her to read in a loud voice because he wanted the world to hear her. And the world did hear her. And I suppose the world was glad.
The latest Pennsylvania poll, conducted Sept. 22-24 by Strategic Vision Political, shows Casey leading Santorum 50 percent to 40 percent, with 10 percent undecided. It's not clear what voters will gain by electing Casey given that the two candidates are seemingly indistinguishable, but there's no guessing what they'll lose in Santorum.
Love him or hate him, for the past decade, Santorum has been the conservatives' point man for the world's disenfranchised -- the poor, the sick and the meek. If he loses, the face of compassionate conservatism will be gone.
Wah,
You get what you deserve you myopic whiner.
And if you elect Casey, you will be the first to call him despicable when he votes to raise your taxes and cut and run from terrorists. Sometimes good conservatives have to support those they don't like for some other favored end of the Party. It's not right but it happens. Santorum has never welched on a vote. He has an outstanding conservative voting record.
You might try telling people that Ted Kennedy, Dick Durbin, John Kerry et al claim to be Catholics too.
Actually, I find some of the underlying assumptions in the article offensive. Santorum's supporters, presumably conservatives and/or Christians, are all assumed to oppose fighting aids in Africa with anything but abstinence, are opposed to fighting the genocide in Darfur, even if it is fighting Islamofascists, and are somehow opposed to getting welfare mother's off welfare and into jobs.
Bigotry, pure and simple. Also utter nonsense.
I'm glad that they somehow feel nice about Santorum, but their prejudices about conservatives are grotesque.
Now, conservatives are, for good reason, angry with Santorum for having supported snarlin' Arlen Specter in the elction two years ago. Santorum has said that he sometimes regrets that, as well.
You might be right, but did he buck the party when he was a freshman?!...He didn't have to. The Dims had some plan, morals and real people way back then.
You're judged by your friends you company with.
Very good point!!!! Did not think of that. Thanks.
I am very depressed. Casey will water down his pro life votes over time. Demos are not allowed to be pro life. Casey is not the man his late father was.
Look, Pat Toomey supports Rick. I despise Specter but he did get Roberts and Alito through the confirmation conference.
If Santorum loses, Specter should be stripped of his chairmanship!!!
Wow! That's depressing. Casey is such an empty suit. He's not is dad.
Why do people love him so much? In the Meet the Press debate with Santorum, he came across as a little twit.
I guess it's all in the name. God help us in '08 if the name "Clinton" is on the ballot for POTUS.
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